I, 


!^ 


G 


ifT 


A.IL^V\^A.Y    IVI^IX.    P^Y 


STATEMENT,  BRIEF,  AND  / ''•^■'■'''\\ 
SUGGESTED  BILL         I  :      o,  ' 


ii.C 


^:1  /.  r  r  o  u  :0? 


SUBMITTED  TO  THE 


!0MM1TT£E  ON  POST  OFFICES  AND  POST  ROADS 
UNITED  STATES  SENATE 


SIXTY-THIRD  CONGRESS 
THIRD  SESSION 


ON 


H.  R.  19906,  H.  R.  17042,  and  S.  6405 

BILLS   PROVIDING  A   READJUSTjMENT   FOR 
RAILWAY  ^lAIL  PAY 


Printed  for  the  use  of  the  Committee  on  Post  Offices  and  Post  Roads 


>^ 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT   PRINTING  OFPIOE 

1916 


/ 


RAILWAY  MAIL   PAY. 


The  inquiry  into  the  question  of  railway  mail  pay  did  not  originate 
in  any  fault  or  criticism  of  the  law  of  1873  as  an  administrative 
measure,  but  was  inaugurated  to  support  if  possible  a  declaration 
of  a  former  Postmaster  General  that  the  railroads  were  overpaid 
for  carrying  the  mail. 

The  report  of  the  jomt  congressional  committee  seems  to  be  con- 
clusive as  establishing  the  fact  that  the  railroads  are  underpaid  and 
not  overpaid,  and  so  far  as  the  administrative  practicability  of  the 
present  law  is  concerned  we  have  only  to  refer  to  the  praise  which 
has  been  bestowed  upon  the  conduct  and  development  of  the  Postal 
Service  by  each  successive  Postmaster  General  for  indorsement. 

There  can  not  be  very  much  Avrong  with  a  law  which  has  been  in 
successful  operation  for  more  than  40  years,  under  which  the  Postal 
Service  has  developed  into  the  biggest  and  best  service  of  its  kind 
in  the  world  and  which  commands  more  and  more  the  admiration 
of  those  who  are  familiar  with  all  the  features  of  its  operation.  It 
adjusts  itself  automatically  to  the  needs  of  the  service,  and  under  it, 
if  the  rates  are  just,  the  cost  of  railroad  transportation  can  never  be 
disproportionate  to  the  revenue  received  therefrom  by  the  Post 
Office  Department,  because  the  rates  decrease  as  the  volume  of  mail 
increases. 

Anyone  mterested  in  and  favorable  to  the  successful  operation  of 
the  Postal  Service  must  regret  the  scant  consideration  given  to  the 
perfection  of  the  present  system  by  the  joint  congressional  committee 
and  view  Avith  miicli  concern  its  venture  into  untried,  experimental, 
speculative,  and,  to  those  most  competent  to  judge,  totally  impractical 
methods.  Much  was  said  during  the  progress  of  the  investigation 
about  trying  to  find  a  basis  or  plan  which  would  be  fair  to  the  Gov- 
ernment on  the  one  hand  and  to  the  railroads  on  the  other.  In  that 
connection  it  is  worth  while  to  inquire  just  what  the  relations  of  the 
Government  are  in  the  matter  of  the  transportation  of  the  mnils  on 
railroads.  "V^^io  is  the  Government?  Is  it  the  Post  Office  Depai't- 
ment,  or  is  it  the  great  body  of  the  people  who  directly  and  specifi- 
cally pay  the  Post  Office  Department  on  a  weight  basis  for  each  unit 
of  transportation  furnished  by  it  to  them,  and  does  this  public  know 
or  has  the  Post  Office  Department  ever  told  it  that  the  profit  arising 
out  of  the  transportation  of  mnils  on  railroads  is  what  enables  the 
Post  Office  Department  to  pay  for  all  its  unremunerative  service  and 
establish  a  surplus?  Does  the  public  know  that  without  railroad 
transportation  there  would  be  practically  no  uniA^ersal  Postal  Service, 
and  that  what  there  might  be  would  be  absolutely  unremunerative 
and  a  charge  on  the  Public  Treasurv.  and  if  the  public  knows  these 
7.5401—15  S30502 


4  EAILWAl^    MAIL   PAY. 

things  is  il  '.viiJing  or  does  it  want  the  railroads  to  be  taxed  through 
practical  confiscation  by  inadequate  rates  and  burdensome  conditions 
to  support  the  unremunerative  branches  of  the  Postal  Service? 

However  these  things  may  be  the  joint  congressional  committee 
was  undoubtedly  sincere,  and  we  know  it  was  very  patient  and  pains- 
taking in  its  efforts  to  get  all  the  facts  and  to  arrive  at  correct  con- 
clusions. The  question  of  the  adequacy  of  the  present  compensation 
to  the  railroads  either  upon  a  basis  of  cost  or  of  comparative  rev- 
enue does  not  present  any  very  great  difficulties,  but  when  the  com- 
mittee departs  from  the  basis  or  system  upon  which  that  ascertain- 
ment has  been  reached  and  endeavors  to  find  a  new  plan  upon  which 
to  adjust  the  pay  of  the  railroads,  and  is  evidently  influenced  by  a 
desire  to  maintain  an  approximation  of  the  cost  of  the  new  plan  to 
the  old  one,  it  has  a  very  different  and  much  more  difficult  problem 
on  its  hands. 

Very  naturally,  perhaps,  since  it  has  appealed  to  previous  com- 
mittee^ which  have  investigated  the  subject,  space  as  a  basis  of  pay 
Avas  adopted  by  the  joint  committee  in  its  recommendation  for  legis- 
lation, but  unfortunately  there  is  nothing  more  stable  than  indi- 
vidual opinion  to  tie  a  space  plan  to,  and  this  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
footnotes  to  the  tables  on  pages  18  and  19  of  the  joint  committee's 
report,  which  show  that  the  committee  after  nearly  two  years  of  in- 
vestigation had  no  sure  foundation  for  its  recommendation,  and  that 
its  estimates  of  space  necessary  for  the  conduct  of  the  Postal  Service 
and  the  cost  thereof  are  mere  approximations,  subject  to  such  wide 
fluctuation  as  administrative  policy  may  suggest.  In  the  recent  de- 
bate in  the  House  of  Eepresentatives  on  the  Moon  bill.  Chairman 
Moon  stated  in  effect  that  while  his  bill  showed  an  increase  in  com- 
pensation on  its  face  of  $2,000,000,  it  was  expected  by  the  exercise  of 
administrative  discretion  to  have  the  parcel  post  carried  for  nothing 
and  the  pay  of  the  railroads  reducecl  $8,000,000  per  annum.  Why 
might  not  the  exercise  of  administrative  discretion  in  the  other  direc- 
tion place  an  unnecessary  burden  upon  the  people?  Is  any  law  sus- 
ceptible of  such  manipulation  a  good  thing  ?  Is  it  not  better  to  have 
an  absolutely  automatic  basis  which  vrill  itself  control  and  fix  the 
compensation  in  accordance  with  the  service  performed? 

In  the  table  on  page  18  of  the  joint  committee''s  report  a  classifi- 
cation of  the  service  with  average  distances  and  rates  for  each  class 
of  service  is  shown.  T^^iile  the  committee  in  a  footnote  admits  the 
inaccuracy  of  this  table,  it  may  confidently  be  stated  that  if  it  were 
correct  the  contemplated  averages  would  not  work  out  on  any  single 
railroad  system  for  the  reason  that  the  exact  proportions  in  each 
class  of  service  would  have  to  be  maintained  in  order  to  produce 
those  averages.  In  the  table  on  page  19,  showing  the  estimated  com- 
pensation to  the  railroads,  the  same  admission  of  inaccuracy  appears 
in  the  footnotes,  and  Congress  is  left  without  any  definite  or  sure 
basis  upon  which  to  form  its  conclusions  as  to  the  cost  of  the  service. 

In  fixing  the  rates  for  space  the  joint  committee  selected  the 
average  earnings  of  cars  in  passenger  trains  as  a  basis,  but  scaled 
those  rates  so  as  to  bring  the  earnings  materially  below  the  earnings 
of  passenger  cars,  which  are  generally  regarded  as  unremunerative. 
Why  the  average  earnings  of  cars  in  passenger  trains  should  be  so 
selected  is  not  quite  clear,  unless  because  it  is  easy.  Passenger  serv- 
ice on  railroads  is  a  compulsory  service,  it  must  be  performed  for 


RAILWAY    MAIL   PAY.  0 

the  convenience  of  the  |)ublic  whether  it  is  compensatory  or  not. 
The  rates  are  not  vohintary  rates  made  by  the  railroads,  but  they 
are  made  by  le^LiisLatnres  and  commissions,  and  are  presumed  to  be 
fixed  at  the  lowest  fig'ure  the  railroads  can  possibly  stand.  The  ele- 
ment of  public  necessity  applies  to  all  classes  of  service  performed 
in  passenger  trains.  Consequently  in  selecting  such  rates  as  a  basis 
for  the  compensation  to  railroads  for  the  transportation  of  the  mails 
the  joint  committee  has,  perhaps  unconsciously,  used  the  most  ex- 
pensive and  least  compensatory  service  performed  by  the  railroads 
in  arriving  at  its  conclusion  as  to  what  a  fair  rate  to  the  railroads 
would  be.  Again,  there  is  no  good  reason  Avhy  a  rate  for  the  trans- 
portation of  the  mails  should  be  based  upon  another  and  totally  dis- 
similar service  simply  because  it  is  performed  in  the  same  train. 
The  joint  committee  was  seeking  a  fair  rate;  wdiy  should  it  have 
chosen  an  admittedly  unremunerative  service  as  its  guide? 

Perhaps  most  serious  of  all  the  features  of  the  space  plan  is  the 
fact  that  the  rates  proposed  are  maximum  rates  which  absolutely 
disregard  the  element  of  efficiency  and  limit  the  earning  capacity  of 
the  facilities  of  the  railroads.  If  one  car  performs  more  service 
than  nnother  is  it  not  entitled  to  earn  more,  the  same  as  a  factory,  a 
bank,  or  an  individual? 

The  character  of  the  matter  now  handled  in  the  mails  admits  of 
great  injustice  to  the  railroads,  since,  with  a  limited  rate  per  car-mile 
and  unlimited  loading,  the  Post  Office  Department  can  transport 
in  passenger  trains  commodities  withdrawn  from  express  and  freight 
movement  cheaper  than  the  same  matter  can  be  transported  as 
freight  in  freight  trains  at  rates  prescribed  or  approved  by  State 
railroad  commissions  or  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  and 
an  element  which  will  be  at  once  recognized  as  objectionable  and 
dangerous  is  the  fact  that  under  the  proposed  plan  and  rates  the 
Post  Office  Department  can  and  inevitably  will  introduce  discrimi- 
nation as  between  shippers  by  freight,  by  mail,  and  by  express,  a 
thing  which  is  prohibited  by  the  laws  regulating  interstate  commerce 
and  which  would  result  in  prosecution  if  undertaken  by  the  rail- 
roads. 

The  transportation  situation,  especially  in  the  South,  is  precarious, 
the  railroads  as  a  imit  are  opposed  to  any  space  plan  of  compensa- 
tion. Such  a  plan  is  economically  unsound,  as  well  as  unfair  to 
them,  and  is  inconsistent  with  the  system  upon  Avhich  railroad  trans- 
portation is  conducted,  as  well  as  Avith  the  manner  in  which  the 
revenues  of  the  Post  Office  Department  are  collected.  The  Post- 
master General  has  recognized  the  ])rinciple  involved  in  a  letter 
addressed  to  Chairman  Moon,  of  the  House  Committee,  dated  August 
T,  1914  (Congressional  Record  Aug.  8,  1914,  pp.  14718-14719),  in 
which  he  says  "  any  expenditure  of  the  money  of  the  people  shall 
bear  some  fixed  relation  to  the  returns  received  from  such  expendi- 
ture." He  has  carried  the  principle  into  practical  application  by 
contracting  for  star  route  service  in  the  West  on  a  weiglit  basis, 
and  by  introducing  weight  as  one  of  the  factors  controlling  the 
compensation  of  rural  delivery  carriers.  As  there  is  no  other 
method  by  which  a  fixed  relation  between  the  expenditures  for  rail- 
road transportation  and  the  re^•enues  of  the  department  can  be 
maintained,  it  would  seem  that  the  Postmaster  General  is  committed 
to  a  weight  basis  for  railway  mail  pay. 


6  EAILWAY    MAIL    PAY. 

That  is  what  the  raih-oads  ask  for,  and  the  only  modifications  in 
the  present  law  as  to  weight  recommended  by  them  are  that  the  rates 
now  paid  be  made  fixed  and  not  maximum  rates,  and  that  such 
weights  be  ascertained  annually  instead  of  quadrennially.  They 
also  ask  that  they  be  paid  prorata  for  apartment  cars,  as  contem- 
plated in  the  report  of  the  joint  congressional  committee,  and  that 
the  administrative  features  of  the  bill  proposed  by  the  joint  com- 
mittee particularly  that  looking  to  the  relief  of  the  railroads  from 
side  and  terminal  service,  be  enacted  into  law. 


BRIEF  REGARDING  LEGISLATION  P^OR  RAILWAY  MAIL  PAY  CON- 
TAINED IN  HOUSE  BILL  17042  WHICH  PASSED  THE  HOUSE  OF 
REPRESENTATIVES  ON  AUGUST  11.  1914,  AND  IS  REPEATED  IN  THE 
POST  OFFICE  APPROPRIATION  BILL  (H.  R.  19906)  WHICH  PASSED 
THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  ON  DECEMBER  31.  1914. 

(  O^rPILSOH Y    <  LAU.^K. 

One  of  the  final  clauses  reads  as  follows : 

It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  railroad  company  to  refuse  to  perform  mail 
service  at  the  rates  of  compensation  provided  by  law  when  and  for  the  period 
required  by  the  Postmaster  General  so  to  do.  and  for  everj'  such  offense  it  shall 
be  fined  not  exceeding  $5,000. 

This  provision  originated  in  the  Post  Office  Department.  Its  first 
appearance  was  in  Postmaster  General  Hitchcock's  tentative  draft 
of  proposed  law  for  regulation  of  railway  mail  pay  submitted  to 
Congress  on  August  I'i,  1011.  It  supersedes  the  present  condition  of 
free  contract  e>'ery  four  years,  which  has  been  in  operation  for  over 
50  years;  in  fact,  since  the  time  that  mails  were  first  carried  on  the 
railroads.  It  would  give  the  railroads  a  standing  in  court  to  recover 
fair  and  just»compensation,  but  it  is  entirely  unnecessary  so  far  as  the 
operating  efficiency  of  the  Postal  Service  is  concerned.  This  is  evi- 
denced by  the  high  character  of  the  existing  Railway  Mail  Service 
under  the  free  contract  system.  The  legislation  is  also  entirely  un- 
necessary if  the  lav,-  provides  for  fair  and  remunerative  rates. 

NO  DEFINrrE  RATES. 

While  rates  are  named  in  the  proposed  law,  they  are  all  stated  as 
"  not  exceeding "  certain  figures,  leaving  it  discretionary  with  the 
Postmaster  General  as  to  what  rates  will  l)e  paid  according  to  his 
judgment  exercised  in  connection  with  a  multitude  of  details.  It  is, 
therefore,  evident  that  the  judgment  will  be  really  exercised  by 
hundreds  of  subordinate  officials  and  accepted  and  concurred  in  by  the 
Postmaster  General.  Taking  these  two  provisions  together  it  may  be 
said  that  the  railroads  vcilfbe  compelled  under  heavy  penalties  to 
carry  the  mails  at  such  rates  as  the  Postmaster  General  may  de- 
termine. Yet,  the  rates  that  are  named  in  the  proposed  law  have 
been  characterized  as  "  absolutely  confiscatory ''  in  the  report  of  the 
joint  congressional  committee  (p.  81). 

THE  SPACE  BASIS. 

The  proposed  law  entirely  changes  the  method  of  paying  for  the 
mail  service.    At  present  the  law  provides  so  that  90  per  cent  of  the 


RAILWAY    MAIL    PAY.  ( 

pa}'  is  based  upon  the  weight  of  mail  carried  and  about  10  per  cent 
is  expended  for  the  extra  space  occupied  by  the  traveling  post  offices 
in  full  railway  post-office  cars.  The  proposed  law  would  pay  about 
98  per  cent  of  the  pay  on  the  basis  of  ''space  authorized"  by  the 
Postmaster  General  and  only  about  2  per  cent  on  the  weight  of 
mail  actually  carried. 

Although  the  Government  fixes  the  postage  rates  on  the  weight  of 
mail  to  be  transported,  it  Avould  seek  to  pay  the  railroads  on  a  dif- 
ferent basis.  The  new  basis — space  authorized — would  be  deter- 
mined as  to  its  quantity  by  hundreds  of  local  postal  officials  through- 
out the  country,  and  would  be  a  matter  of  judgment  having  no  direct 
relation  to  the  essential  service  performed,  which  is  the  transporta- 
tion of  the  mail  itself. 

While  the  proposed  plan  claims  to  be  "  scientific,"  it  is  contended 
that  it  is  absolutely  unscientific,  because  it  ignores  the  vital  element, 
which  is  the  amount  of  traffic  carried.  Car  space  is  without  signifi- 
cance unless  one  considers  the  character,  weight,  and  bulk  of  the 
load  it  contains. 

NO   DEFINITE  PERIOD   OF   AUTHORIZATION. 

The  proposed  law  does  not  provide  any  definite  period  for  the 
authorization  of  car  space.  It  is,  therefore,  possible  that  authoriza- 
tions might  vary  greatly  according  to  individual  opinion,  but  the 
burden  of  providing  space  for  the  authorization  would  remain  with 
the  railroad  companies,  and  if  this  involved  frequent  reconstruction 
of  cars  there  is  no  provision  in  the  law  for  compensation  for  such 
additional  outlays. 

PARCFX-POST   SERVICE. 

The  whole  problem  of  railway  mail  pay  is  different  to-day  from 
what  it  has  ever  been  in  the  past,  because  of  the  legislation  of  Au- 
gust 24.  1912.  which  delegated  to  the  Postmaster  General  the  privi- 
lege of  changing  the  weight  limit,  changing  the  postage  rates,  and 
all  other  conditions  affecting  the  parcel-post  service.  This  has  been 
referred  to  as  a  transference  by  Congress  of  the  legislative  power  to 
the  Postmaster  General.  Congress,  in  the  parcel-post  law  of  Au- 
gust 24,  1912,  prescribed  certain  specific  rates  of  postage  and  a 
weight  limit  of  11  pounds;  also  a  distinctive  postage  stamp  to  pro- 
vide an  automatic  report  of  the  revenue  from  the  parcel-post  busi- 
ness. Already  the  Postmaster  General  has  extended  the  weight 
limit  to  a  maximum  of  50  pounds,  has  greatly  changed  the  postage 
rates,  has  discontinued  the  distinctive  postage  stamp,  and  has 
changed  the  classification  and  mailability  of  articles  to  a  very  great 
extent.  There  is  at  present  no  limit  upon  the  exercise  of  his  au- 
thoritv  to  make  whatever  changes  his  judgment  may  suggest,^  ex- 
cept that  he  must  obtain  the  concurrence  of  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission.  However,  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
sion has  up  to  the  present  time  concurred  in  all  of  the  Postmaster 
General's  suggestions  and  apparently  regards  its  acquiescence  as 
almost  entirely  perfunctory,  as  the  law  of  August  24,  1912,  does  not 
definitely  endow  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  with  the 
right  to' survey  the  entire  field  and  reach  an  independent  judgment. 

If  the  space  basis  of  pay  were  adopted  by  Congress  without  there 
being  a  limitation  upon  the  loading  of  cars   (and  there  is  no  such 


8  RAILWAY    MAIL    PAY. 

limitation  mentioned  in  the  bill  we  are  discussing  or  even  in  the  simi- 
lar bill  prepared  b}^  the  joint  congressional  committee)  the  Post- 
master General  could  obtain  tt)nnage  rates  for  heavy  parcel-post 
matter  carried  on  passenger  trains  that  would  be  considerably  lower 
than  the  present  freight  rates  on  freight  trains.     For  example: 

Chicago  to  St.  Panl,  400  miles:  The  earning  of  a  mail  storage 
car,  including  the  initial  and  terminal  allowance,  would  be  about  21 
cents  a  car-mile.  If  loaded  with  20  tons  the  mail  would  be  carried 
at  the  rate  of  approximately  1  cent  per  ton-mile,  or  $4  for  the  jour- 
ney of  400  miles.  The  first-class  freight  rate  is  $12  a  ton  from  Chi- 
cago to  St.  Paul.  If  the  mail  storage  car  was  loaded  with  only  10 
tons  the  earning  of  the  railroad  company  per  ton  would  be  about  $8, 
or  only  two-thirds  of  the  first-class  freight  rate. 

New  York  to  Boston,  230  miles:  The  earning  of  a  mail  storage 
car,  including  the  initial  and  terminal  allowance,  would  be  less  than 
22  cents  a  car-mile.  If  loaded  with  20  tons,  each  ton  would  pay  the 
railroad  company  1  cent  a  mile,  or  $2.30  per  ton  from  New  York  to 
Boston.  The  first-class  freight  rate  is  $7  a  ton,  or  about  three  times 
as  much. 

Richmond,  Va.,  to  Wilmington,  N.  C,  244  miles:  The  earning  of 
a  mail  storage  car  w^ould  be  about  2H  cents  per  car-mile,  including 
the  initial  and  terminal  charge.  If  loaded  with  20  tons  the  rail- 
road company's  earning  for  a  ton  carried  from  Richmond  to  Wil- 
mington would  be  about  $2.44,  although  the  present  freight  rate  is 
$10  per  ton — nearly  four  times  greater. 

New  York  to  Philadelphia,  90  miles:  The  earning  of  a  mail 
storage  car  on  this  route,  including  initial  and  terminal  allowance, 
would  be  less  than  25  cents,  and  with  a  load  of  20  tons  it  would 
yield  a  little  over  1  cent  a  ton-mile.  Consequently  a  ton  of  mail 
Avould  pay  the  railroad  company  about  $1  for  the  journey  from  New 
York  to  Philadelphia,  whereas  the  first-class  freight  rate  is  $4.40, 
and  the  lowest,  sixth-class,  freight  rate  is  $1.90. 

If  the  proposed  law  is  enacted  and  the  Postmaster  General  uses  the 
power  just  described  he  would  be  employing  the  railroads'  facilities 
for  competitive  transportation  business,  and  this  condition  would  cer- 
tainly be  a  confiscation  of  the  railroad  companies'  facilities. 


AN  ACT  To  nmend  the  postal  laws  coneerniug  the  transportation  of  mail  on 

railroads. 

Be  it  enacted  hy  the  Senate  and  House  of  ReTpresentatvves  of  the 
United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  Post- 
master General  is  authorized  and  directed  to  readjust  the  compensa- 
tion to  be  paid  for  the  transportation  of  mails  on  railroad  routes 
upon  the  conditions  and  at  the  rates  hereinafter  mentioned: 

First.  That  the  mails  shall  be  conveyed  with  due  frequency  and 
speed;  and  that  sufficient  and  suitable  room,  fixtures,  and  furniture, 
in  a  car  or  apartment  properly  lighted  and  warmed,  shall  be  pro- 
vided when  required  for  railway  postal  clerks  to  accompany  and 
distribute  the  mails. 

Second.  That  the  pay  per  mile  per  annum  shall  be  at  the  follow- 
ing rates,  namely :  On  routes  carrying  their  whole  length  an  average 


RAILWAY    MAIL    PAY.  9 

weight  of  mails  per  day  of  two  hundred  pounds,  forty-two  dollars 
and  seventy-five  cents:  five  hundred  pounds,  sixty-four  dollars  and 
twelve  cents;  one  thousand  i^ounds,  eighty-five  dollars  and  fifty 
cents;  one  thousand  five  hundred  pounds,  one  hundred  six  dollars 
and  eighty-seven  cents;  two  thousand  pounds,  one  hundred  twenty- 
eighty  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents;  three  thousand  five  hundred 
pounds,  one  hundred  forty-nine  dollars  and  sixty-two  cents;  five 
thousand  pounds,  one  hundred  seventy-one  dollars:  and  twenty  dol- 
lars and  thirty  cents  additional  for  every  additional  two  thousand 
pounds  over  five  thousand  pounds  and  not  more  than  forty-eight 
thousand  pounds;  and  for  each  additional  two  thousand  pounds 
above  forty-eight  thousand  pounds  the  pay  shall  be  at  the  I'ate  of 
nineteen  dollars  and  twent^^-four  cents  per  mile  per  annum.  Pay 
shall  also  be  allowed  for  all  intermediate  weights  between  the  units 
specifically  named  where  the  additional  weight  at  the  rate  stated 
will  equal  one  dollar  or  more  per  mile  per  annum,  the  average  weight 
to  be  ascertained  in  every  case  by  the  actual  weighing  of  the  mails 
for  such  a  number  of  successive  working  days,  not  less  than  thirty, 
at  such  times,  after  June  thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred  and  fifteen,  as 
will  secure  fair  annual  average  weights,  and  not  less  frequently  than 
once  in  every  year,  and  the  result  to  be  stated  and  verified  in  such 
form  and  manner  as  the  Postmaster  General  may  direct.  For  the 
purpose  of  conducting  said  weighings  the  Postmaster  General  may 
authorize  railroad  agents  and  postmasters  to  take  and  report  the 
weight  of  mail  at  local  stations :  Provided,  That  where  two  or  more 
railroads  have  varying  distances  between  the  same  points  the  com- 
pensation for  competitive  mails  over  the  longer  distanci?s  may  be 
reduced  to  that  of  the  shortest  distance  by  mutual  agreement  between 
the  Postmaster  General  and  the  railroad  companies. 

Sec.  2.  Railroad  companies  whose  railroad  vras  constructed  in 
whole  or  in  part  by  a  land  grant  made  by  Congress  on  the  condition 
that  the  mails  should  be  transported  over  their  road  at  such  price  as 
Congress  should  by  law  direct  shall  receive  only  eighty  per  centum 
of  the  compensation  authorized  by  this  act. 

Sec.  o.  That  the  Postmaster  General  may  also  authorize  uiail 
service  of  the  following  classes,  namely:  Full  railway  post-oflice  car 
service,  apartment  railway  post-office  car  service,  and  side  terminal 
and  ttansfer  service. 

Full  railway  post-office  cars  shall  be  of  a  standard  length  of  sixty 
feet,  inside  measurement.  Apartment  cars  shall  be  of  two  standard 
lengths,  namely,  thirty  feet  and  fifteen  feet,  inside  measurements. 
Side  terminal  and  transfer  service  shall  be  the  transportation  of 
mail  between  railroad  stations  and  post  offices  su])plied  therefrom 
and  between  railroad  stations. 

Authorizations  of  railway  post-office  cars  and  apartuient  cars  here- 
in provided  for  shall  be  for  the  round  trip  of  the  car.  and  the  maxi- 
mum space  authorized  in  one  direction  shall  be  determina(i\e  of  the 
space  to  be  paid  for  in  the  opposite  direction,  unless  otherwise 
agreed  upon  between  the  Postmaster  General  and  the  railroad  com- 
pany in  any  particular  case:  ATid  provided.  That  authorizations 
may  be  changed  only  at  points  where  the  switching  of  cars  into  or 
out  of  trains  or  the  transfer  of  mails  between  cars  used  throughout 
the  operating  run  of  a  train  would  not  delay  the  running  of  such 
trains:  And  provided  further.  That  not  more  than  one  apartment 


10  '  RAILWAY    MAIL    PAY. 

car  shall  be  authorized  on  any  one  train.  Authorizations  for  mail 
service  under  this  act  may  be  made  upon  any  passenger  or  mixed 
train  scheduled  for  public  use.  and  fast  mail  trains  may  be  con- 
tracted for  at  the  rates  herein  named. 

Sec.  4.  That  the  rates  of  payment  for  full  railway  post-office  cars 
and  apartment  raihvay  post-office  cars  shall  be  as  follows,  namely: 

For  fidl  railway  post-office  car  service,  forty  dollars  per  mile  per 
annum  for  the  operating  mileage  run  of  a  line  of  such  cars  each 
trip,  a  line  of  cars  to  consist  of  a  sufficient  number  of  cars  to  perform 
a  round  trip  of  service  over  an  authorized  run. 

For  thirty-foot  and  fifteen-foot  railway  post-office  apartment  car 
service  the  rate  of  pay  shall  be,  respectively,  one-half  and  one-fourth 
the  rate  herein  provided  for  full  railway  post-office  cars. 

Sec.  5.  The  rates  fixed  by  this  act  shall  cover  the  transportation 
of  persons  who  are  discharging  official  duties  in  connection  with  the 
Railway  Mail  Service.  Such  persons  shall  include  clerks  handling 
mail  in  cars,  clerks  traveling  from  their  homes  to  the  beginning  of 
a  mail  run  to  which  they  ha^e  been  assigned  or  to  their  homes  from 
such  mail  run.  and  all  other  persons  while  discharging  official  duties 
as  inspectors  or  supervisors  of  the  Railway  Mail  Service. 

The  rates  provided  for  herein  shall  further  cover  expenses  of  de- 
livering within  and  receiving  mails  at  car  doors,  and  the  switching, 
lighting,  heating,  and  the  furnishing  of  suitable  drinking  Avsiter  and 
cleaning  of  mail  cars.  Railroad  companies  carrying  the  mails  shall 
furnish  reasonable  facilities  for  caring  for  and  handling  them  while 
in  their  custody.  They  shall  furnish  all  cars  or  parts  of  cars  used 
in  the  transportation  and  distribution  of  the  mails,  and  place  them 
in  stations  before  the  departure  of  trains  at  and  for  such  reasonable 
time  as  the  department  may  require.  They  shall  also  provide  reason- 
able station  sjmce  and  rooms  for  the  storage  and  transfer  of  mails 
in  transit,  when  required  by  the  Postmaster  General. 

Sec.  6.  That  standard  specifications  shall  be  prepared  by  the  Post- 
master General  for  the  fittings  of  full  railway  post-office  cars,  thirty- 
foot  apartment  cars,  and  fifteen- foot  apartment  cars,  and  the  rates 
named  herein  shall  apply  only  to  cars  fitted  in  accordance  with  such 
standards :  Provided,  That  the  railroads  shall  be  allowed  such  reason- 
able time  as  may  be  necessary  to  bring  mail  apartment  cars  now  in 
service  up  to  such  standard  specifications:  Prorlded  further,  That 
whenever  a  railroad  company  is  unable  to  furnish  standard  cars 
or  apartments  of  the  length  requested,  the  Postmaster  General  may 
accept  cars  of  lesser  length  if  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  the  service, 
and  pay  only  for  the  actual  space  furtiished,  the  compensation  to  be 
a  pro  rata  of  that  provided  for  by  this  act  for  the  standard  lengths 
quested :  And  provided  further.  That  the  Postmaster  General  may  ac- 
cept cars  and  apartments  of  greater  length  than  those  of  the  standard 
requested,  but  no  compensation  shall  be  allowed  for  such  excess 
lengths.  Full  railway  post-office  cars  and  mail  apartment  cars  shall 
be  constructed  and  operated  in  accordance  with  the  regulations  of 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission. 

Sec.  7.  That  payment  for  side  terminal  and  transfer  service  shall 
not  be  covered  by  the  rates  named  herein. 

The  Postmaster  General  is  authorized  to  provide,  in  his  discretion, 
by  regulation  screen  or  other  wagon,  automobile,  or  mail-messenger 
service  under  existing  law,  or  to  c'ontract  with  the  railroad  company, 


KAII^WAV    MAIL    PAY.  11 

or  with  other  persons  for  the  performance  of  such  service  at  the 
lowest  rates  obtainable. 

Sec.  8.  That  fines  for  operating  delinquencies  and  deductions  for 
failures  to  perform  service,  except  as  provided  in  section  9  of  this  act, 
shall  not  exceed  the  money  value  of  the  service  improperly  performed 
or  omitted. 

Railroad  companies  carrying  the  mails  shall  submit  under  oath, 
when  and  in  such  form  as  may  be  required  by  the  Postmaster  (leneral, 
evidence  as  to  the  performance  of  service. 

Sec.  9.  That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  railroad  company  to  re- 
fuse to  perform  mail  service  at  the  rates  of  compensation  specified 
in  this  act,  when  required  by  the  Postmaster  (General  so  to  do,  and 
for  every  such  offense  it  shall  be  fined  not  exceeding  five  thousand 
dollars.     Each  day  of  refusal  shall  constitute  a  separate  offense. 

Sec.  10.  That  all  laws  or  parts  of  laws  in  conflict  with  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act  are  hereby  repealed. 


Gaylord  Bros. 

Makers 

Syracuse,  N.  V. 

PAT,  JAN.  21,  1908 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


CQEbD171b3 


